Monday, December 6, 2010

Hi and welcome to another installment of my tiny series of handmade holiday ornaments! Thanks so much for the sweet comments on the mini house tour. Now lets make something!

Back in the early fall when the oak trees on my in law's property were dropping acorns like crazy, every step you took was a crunch, crunch, crunch, Logan and I harvested a few zip lock bags full. I used them for decorating during fall, and I wanted to incorporate them into Christmas as well. I thought they would look neat as an ornament.

Here is what you will need:

Acorn caps

Burnt Umber craft paint (and brush)

3" Styrofoam ball

Jute twine

Small piece of floral wire (18 gauge)

Narrow ribbon

Silver glitter (or your choice of color)

Mod Podge

Hot glue gun

First paint the styrofoam ball with burnt umber, this is just so you don't see the white of the foam. You could find a closer match to the color of the acorns if you want, burnt umber is what I had on hand.

Next start pushing the caps into the foam. Hot glue might be necessary for this part. While a lot of them stayed pretty well, if they are loose, just put a little dab of glue in the indention and stick the cap back on.Get the caps as close as you can and work your way all the way around. Do not try to get it perfect, there will be gaps, but that's why we painted the ball in the first place. To attach the jute twine hanger, cut a length of twine about six inches. Take the floral wire and cut a piece about 3 inches long, bend it in half to make something that resembles a hair pin. Fold the twine in half and use the wire 'pin' to anchor the twine to the ball. Push the wire all the way in, if it doesn't seem secure, put a dab of glue. Tie a knot on the end of the string and the hanger is ready.

Now that all of the caps are covering the ball, use Mod Podge and brush a little across the edges of the caps. While the glue is still wet, sprinkle on glitter. I used silver, but I think gold would be nice or even brownstone. I tie some pretty ribbon the the top and it's ready to hang!

Of course if you don't want to hang them, they would make great bowl fillers too. Just complete all the steps and don't add the jute.I hope you are inspired to try this! Thanks so much for stopping by!

30 comments:

What a beautiful natural ornament this makes. There are certainly plenty of acorn caps around the neighborhood. I'm going to make note of this and make some next year. Thanks for sharing the idea. ~ Sarah

What a beautiful decoration. I love the browns and golds that come through as well as the unique shape that the acorn caps provide. What a great piece. If you would like to share it further, you welcome to participate in my party -- the Boardwalk Bragfest occurring today. It's a lot of fun, and I think others would equally enjoy this unique ornament.

I'm loving this! It's so different. I tried to incorporate the "natural" theme into our holiday decor this year and ended up just using a ton of pine cones! I could definitely use some acorns too... love it!

Oh thank you for this great idea! I have been saving acorn caps in hopes of coming up with something to do with them besides making elf hats or tiny bowls for mice! Our South Florida oak trees produce a much smaller variety of acorn - but the results will still look great! Thanks again for the inspiration! btw - I found you on Under the Table and Dreaming...hAndiMom

I have been collecting acorn caps for the last week. I have a PERFECT courtyard that Is covered!! i knew I could create Christmas presents with these -- and you have shown me how!! Thank you so much!!!! Bonnie from Athens, GA . . . Go Dawgs!!!